When Liu finished her performance as she skated toward the exit she yelled toward the camera, “Thats what I am f***ing talking about!!” which really shows the Oakland in her.-- Wesleigh Stone 7th grade
Alysa Liu won two gold medals at this year’s Winter Olympics, one for team skating and the other for the women's free skating. “Liu is only 20 years old and has been skating since she was five. She got started in Oakland, California, and ended up crafting her education around her figure skating training and schedule after she started competing and consistently placed well,” wrote Teddy Ricketson.
When Liu finished her performance as she skated toward the exit she yelled toward the camera, “Thats what I am f***ing talking about!!” which really shows the Oakland in her. Liu grew up in the Bay Area, primarily in Oakland and Richmond. She only went to Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) for a semester in middle school in the Figure Skating Pathway (which no longer exists). Still, she really enjoyed her time at OSA. “ The big smile you see, she had that in sixth grade, she would have her hair in a bun every day because right after school Alysa would cross the street and go straight to the ice rink. By the time sixth grade was over she was on independent study because she was in so many competitions,” said Laurice Guerin, a 6th and 8th grade teacher at OSA in an interview with ABC7 News Bay Area.
She still practices at the Oakland Ice Center regularly. She practices there so often that kids from OSA see her when they go ice skating themselves. A 6th grade Literary Arts student, Parker Brewer said “I saw her once or twice when I went ice skating and it's common now for me to see her! I feel special when I see her because not many people get to.” Seeing Liu at the ice rink is very lucky for kids but is also really cool for them because not many kids get to see her in person. Violet Regilio, a 7th grade Literary Arts student thinks, “It feels pretty cool. Because we could become like her, be good at our art, we could really do something with our art. Really pursue it.”
Liu chose to retire from figure skating in 2022 at age 16 due to intense burnout, extreme pressure, and lack of personal autonomy over her training and daily life. But this year she chose to come back to the Olympics and, boy, was that a good idea! According to Dave Skretta, “It was on a skiing trip a couple of years ago, when Liu felt the same familiar adrenaline rush she once felt while skating, that she began to think about a comeback. But this time, Liu would be skating on her terms, more carefree and self-assured than she’d been as a child prodigy, when her life revolved around the practice rink.”
Many people have debates on whether Liu will retire again or continue on. Sayuri Espinoza, a 7th grade Literary Arts student at OSA, says “I don't think she will retire for real, but I also don’t think she will go competitive because she chose it for the fun, and the adrenaline, not competition. I don’t think she will go to all the competitions, I think she will go every now and then.”
Vanessa Schulte, a 6th grade Literary Arts student at OSA says otherwise. “I don't know, I think that with people stalking her she might… but I’m not sure. She did opt out of that one ice skating championship so maybe.” When Alysa first retired many people thought she would never come back to ice skating again but now that she came back AND won gold there are questions if she will retire again or continue!
She had her very own rally to welcome her home on March 12th at Frank Ogawa Plaza. So many people showed up that the tickets sold out in less than five minutes and the whole venue was jam packed! OSA was given about a thousand tickets so the whole school could go. So many famous people showed up like singer Kehlani, rappers G-Eazy and P-Lo, figure skating legend Kristi Yamaguchi, as well as the boxer Andre Ward and a few more! They gave everyone a show and even Stephen Curry sent her a video congratulating her on her amazing gold medal win and performance!
OSA is very proud of Liu, we will continue to root for her in her journey of life and we will always have a place for her in Oakland in our school and most importantly in our hearts!
